Once-revered abbot of Wat Rai Khing jailed for 50 years over Bt300m fraud

A court today sentenced the former abbot of a well-known temple in Nakhon Pathom province to 50 years in prison for conspiring with other defendants to embezzle approximately 300 million baht from temple funds, as well as for misconduct in office.

The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases also ordered Yaem Intrangkrungkao (formerly Phra Dharma Wachiranuwat), 70, to return 28 million baht to the temple.

After examining the evidence, the court sentenced a woman, identified as ‘Aranyawan’, an online gambling broker, former monk Maha Ekphot and Petty Officer First Class ‘Chatchai’, who received transferred funds on behalf of the former abbot, to eight years in prison each.

‘Patcharaporn’, described as a close associate of the former abbot who managed rental operations within the temple, was acquitted.

The case dates back to mid-2025, following complaints calling for an investigation into Rai Khing Temple’s finances after suspicious activities were discovered, suggesting that the abbot had engaged in corruption by misappropriating temple donation funds for improper purposes.

Officers from the Central Investigation Bureau went undercover as monks to examine the temple’s operations and the abbot’s financial management.

Investigators uncovered evidence that the former abbot had spent both temple and foundation funds on non-temple-related expenses between 2021 and 2024, totalling more than 300 million baht.

Read more: Wat Rai Khing: A pillar of devotion rocked by scandal

Financial records show that more than 63 million baht was transferred to Aranyawan’s account, over 113 million baht to the account of Maha Ekphot, a monk affiliated with the temple, and another 63 million baht to Chatchai’s account.

All of these transactions were ultimately linked to bank accounts associated with online gambling websites.

The once-revered abbot was defrocked in mid-May last year.